rock tumbler

[jrb434]

Ok, I want to buy a rock tumbler. Have a few questions beforehand though. There are 2 types of tumblers, one that rolls and one that vibrates. They both have pros and cons, as does everything in life. Which works best for beach coins though? I do not need a big one, just a handful at a time. And which would be better, using gravel or sand? Has anyone tried a mix of sand and gravel?

Thanks folks!!

 

[Jim Pa]

[size=medium]If you are going to clean them it doesn't matter.Use the sand ,it doesn't cost anything.Never clean coins of any value.[/size]

 

[cubfan64]

a cheap belt driven rotating rock tumbler by Harbor Freight. It's lasted over a year with fairly regular use and the only thing I've had to do is replace the belt once when I overloaded the "drum" and the belt broke.

I use aquarium gravel since I had some lying around the house and it works just fine - I think pretty much any abrasive material like sand, small pebbles etc... would work well. I just load it up with water, some lemon juice and sometimes a little soap.

You'll have to experiment to see what length of time works better and what loading of coins/abrasive/liquid works best for you.

As someone else said - don't even tumble anything that might have value or you will almost assuradly bring down it's value.

Also - keep your copper coins separate from the dimes/nickles/quarters so you don't end up with everything looking copper colored.

Best of luck

 

[nanwate7]

We also have a Harbor Freight tumbler, and when the belt broke while we were on vacation, my husband could use a heavy rubber band as an emergency substitute. It worked for a long time! I also use aquarium gravel and liquid dish soap.